Many had seen this coming, given that the Cygnet was nothing more than a glorified and re-trimmed Toyota iQ (Scion in North America) with an Aston Martin-worthy starting price of £31,000 (US$50,000 or €37,000), with some editions costing close to £50,000 mark (US$81,000 or €60,000).

An Aston Martin source told Reuters that decision to kill the Cygnet was made after it "sold less than 150 units" in three years, when the brand had originally stated that it had hoped to sell 4,000 Cygnets a year to "environmentally conscious city dwellers" and at the same time, help reduce the company's CO2 emissions to meet the more stringent EU rules.

The British company, which is celebrating its centenary, isn't doing so well overall having posted a 16 percent fall in full-year profits, while its global vehicle sales have dropped from 110,000 units in 2007 to 67,500 cars.